Stroke: Leading Cause Of Disability In Adults

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Introduction Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults (Morris, van Wijck, Joice, & Donaghy, 2013). A stroke is caused by blood loss to the brain due to a clot or ruptured vessel. Most stroke victims suffer from hemiparesis: partial or full loss of voluntary movement on one side of the body (Pereira et al., 2012). Paresis is the most common motor impairment caused by stroke. Paresis can range from mild to severe and occurs contralateral to the side of the infarct on the brain. Mild paresis results in movements that can appear to be normal or near normal. Severe paresis can result in little to no movement in the affected limb (Lang, Bland, Bailey, Schaefer, & Birkenmeier, 2013).
Due to early detection and improved medical procedures, the number of people surviving from strokes has increased over time (Barker & Brauer, 2005). Despite this increase in survival rate, the recovery rate for upper limb function is poor with many victims disabled years after stroke because of a slow reach or grasp, excessive trunk compensation, or simply decreased finger and hand dexterity (Pereira et al., 2012). Nearly 80% of all stroke survivors suffer …show more content…

Of this percentage, only 50% of those survivors are expected to regain some upper limb function and only 5%-20% of those survivors will regain full functional recovery (Barker & Brauer, 2005). In general, when beginning the recovery process, stroke patients’ primary

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